Turkey’s gas imports to increase by 10 percent in 2015: Ministry

Turkey’s natural gas imports for 2015 are projected to reach 52.2 billion cubic meters (bcm), an increase of 9.6 percent compared to last year, according to the Energy Ministry.

Gas consumption has been steadily increasing in Turkey because of the country’s developing industry and increasing population, and Turkey imported a total of 47.6 bcm of natural gas in 2014.

The Petroleum Pipeline Corporation of Turkey, BOTAŞ, will import 20 bcm of gas from Russia via the West Line and Blue Stream pipelines. Another 10 bcm will come from Iran, while 6.6 bcm will be imported from Azerbaijan, according to projections. The company also plans to import 5.6 bcm from Algeria and Nigeria as liquefied natural gas (LNG), while a number of other companies will import around 10 bcm from Russia.

Turkey uses most of its natural gas for the electric power sector, which accounts for nearly half of the country’s natural gas consumption. The industrial and residential sectors each account for around 20 percent.

According to the ministry, around 45 percent of Turkey’s electricity generation relies on natural gas, 25 percent on hydro plants, and 12 percent each on domestic coal, lignite and coal exports. The remainder comes from other resources.